One-line review

An indispensable book on editing for the layperson that applies to more than just business editing–the cover does not do the content justice.

What drew me to the book

Jim Taylor, the author of Quick Fixes for Business Writing, was giving a workshop on his eight step editing process through the Editors Association of Canada (EAC). I wasn’t inclined to go until other editors (some with 30 years of experience) raved about previous workshops by Jim Taylor. I reconsidered, but ultimately couldn’t make it but there was mention of a book based on the workshop so I tracked that down at my local library.

My thoughts on the book

I have a confession to make: You know the person who judges a book by its cover? I have to admit that’s me. The cover of Quick Fixes for Business Writing has a very low-budget feel to it that would have put me off without the background that pushed me to check out the book in the first place. It’s also double-spaced (which seems an odd choice to me) and has neither a table of contents nor an index. The content, however, is great. So great that I actually ordered my own copy from the publisher (they only sell direct) for my reference library (that would be the bookcase next to my desk).

So why did I like this book?

It helped me get a handle on one of the toughest problems of editing, which is fixing a piece of writing without imposing your own style and voice onto it. This book’s subtitle is An Eight-Step Editing Process to Find and Correct Common Readability Problems and that’s what makes it valuable: It gives you a system to assess a particular writer’s most pressing editing needs as well as a system for pinpointing what types of things need changing and why. The why is important because as an edit becomes more invasive it becomes more noticeable to the writer (and many writers will question why you are rearranging or changing their words).

This book is written for the layperson, in particular the business manager who has to edit reports or other documents written by subordinates and co-workers. The eight steps move from least invasive (changes least likely to be noticed by an author) to most invasive (rewriting sentences and rearranging paragraphs). It is written in a straightforward and conversational way that guides you through what to do, how to do it and why to do it.

Although the focus of the book is editing business writing, the principles and steps can be adapted to other types of writing. If I’m faced with editing my own writing, I now pull the book off the shelf and start going through the eight steps. Having the steps prevents that paralysis phase of not knowing where to begin–especially with a long piece of writing.

About the book author

Jim Taylor can be found online at his blog.

Find this book online

Quick Fixes for Business Writing: Productive Publications US | Canada

The Retreat by David Bergen is set in Kenora, Ontario, during the ’70s, specifically the summer of the Objibway occupation of Anicinabe Park. The story follows the Byrd family, a white family from the big city that comes to Kenora to stay at a commune-type compound known as ‘The Retreat.’ This is the place that Mrs. Byrd is convinced will make her right and her husband is willing to try anything if only his wife would return to the way she was before their last son was born and she lapsed into a post-partum depression. While the adult Byrds are dealing with their own problems, their 17-year-old daughter Lizzy is left in charge of her three brothers, which is the usual state of affairs.

The book centers on Lizzy and her brothers as they come to deal with their mother’s inability to cope, their father’s unwillingness to take action, and the changes in their own lives that are the inevitable result of growing up and figuring out who you are. Lizzy in particular learns of love and heartbreak when she becomes involved with a local Ojibway boy.

This book is very much focussed on character development at the expense of plot. I’m not a particular fan of books that choose one over the other. If I had to pick, I would pick plot. It’s not that I’m not interested in character development, I am. In fact, I am equally disappointed in books that neglect character development in favour of plot. It’s just that I don’t find character development in and of itself interesting enough to sustain a book.

The plot in this book takes a backseat to the characters. As a consequence I never found myself particularly worried about the characters or interested in their inner turmoil. I wanted the occupation of Anicinabe Park to feature more prominently in the novel, but it was more of a backdrop that was barely there. It was frustrating, because the book is almost there in balancing the two, but misses it by a hair. Having said that, this actually a very good book and I’m sure many people will enjoy it and find it satisfying. Confused? Keep reading and I’ll explain.

My preference for the balance between character and plot is a personal one and there are all kinds of readers who prefer a different balance (Oprah comes to mind). I can tell that this was a good book because I enjoyed reading it (though I did find it put-downable) even though it turned out not to be my kind of read. I’ve read a number of books either by accident or by cohersion that focussed on character development which were agonizing to get through, but this wasn’t one of them.

If you don’t mind books that focus on character development, and even seek them out, then you might quite like this book. There are certainly other book bloggers who did.

Flight of the Hummingbird: A Parable for the Environment is one of those rare books (at least for me) that you can admire as a work of art in and of itself and not solely because of the words inside.

I got the book for a number of reasons: it’s Haida art, Canadian, and environmental. The artist, Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas infuses personality into his animals through facial expressions and posture using Haida style illustrations. While these illustrations border more on the traditional style similar to the cover, Yahgulanaas has also developed Haida Manga which can been seen on HaidaManga.com (Yahgulanaas has a Haida manga book coming out in 2009 which I will be looking for).

This is a very slim volume at 64 pages with illustrations. The parable itself is 20 pages. The rest of the book consists of a foreword by Green Belt Movement founder Wangari Maathai and an afterword. The afterword includes a piece on universal responsibility by the Dalai Lama and a piece on the power of individuals by Yahgulanaas. There is also an essay about the role of hummingbirds in the lore of various cultures and some biographical notes on the contributors.

I was a bit taken aback to find that the source for the biographical notes and the role of hummingbirds piece was, in part, a website listed at the end of each piece. This is something that I am not used to seeing in print books and left me slightly uncomfortable in terms of the reliability of the information in the essays. I was surprised to see any sources listed, as it’s not really the sort of book you would expect references in, and doubly surprised to see websites referenced. This is, however, a fairly minor quibble.

On the whole it is a beautiful book produced in an environmentally-friendly manner, according to the publisher, which fits nicely with the message. This book is an introduction and reminder about environmental responsibility and the power of one individual that is accessible to all ages through the parable and beautiful art.

I am a sucker for spy story, particularly if that spy story is true. Throw in a Canadian connection and you’ve got my attention. I’m pleased to add Delusion: The True Story of Victorian Superspy Henri Le Caron by Peter Edwards to my collection. The story and the craft don’t disappoint:

The story is one that is not taught in any school history books I was ever exposed to, which is a shame because if interesting history like this was taught in school there wouldn’t be so many people who shudder at the thought of picking up anything history-related. The superspy in question is Thomas Beach, British by birth. His adopted name is Henri Le Caron and he ends up in the United States spying for both the British and the Canadians as he infiltrates Irish revolutionary groups to the highest levels. There are plots to invade Canada and trade it to the British for Ireland, the development of terrorist methods recognizable from the current news, betrayal, adultery, alcoholic prime ministers, double agents, and more.

Peter Edwards does an excellent job of both research and translating that research into an interesting read. Edwards chose not to create dialogue for the book so as not to invent what any of these people would say. This choice works very well because the snippets of writing from newspaper reports and personal papers that he uses to give each of the people a voice better than imagined dialogue. The research into the times as well as the individuals helps solidify the world in which Henri Le Caron was operating.
Each chapter starts with a quote which shows up at some point in the chapter. The quotes are well chosen and I’ve started a new chapter more than once because of them.

… he was the last person in the world you would take for a deep conspirator, and a constructor of murder. —Henri Le Caron describes a future American ambassador

This book has a lot of footnotes, which are collected at the back of the book. I found this a bit distracting as I had to flip to the back of the book each time I wanted to see what factoid Edwards had provided or what source a startling fact had come from. I would have preferred to have them at the bottom of each page so that I could either read or ignore them as I went along instead of paging to the back (something I rarely do because I lose my place in the book). This is a small complaint—I’m sure there are readers out there who prefer this arrangement, but I’m just not one of them

This was an interesting read and I learned a lot of about the intertwined history of Canada, the United States, Ireland, and Britain. It will appeal to anyone who likes true spy stories, intrigue between nations, or the just an interesting read.

Peter Edwards is also the author of One Dead Indian: The Premier, the Police, and the Ipperwash Crisis; A Mother’s Story with Joyce Milgaard; and The Encyclopedia of Canadian Organized Crime: From Captain Kidd to Mom Boucher (with Michel Auger).

Patrick Rush is on a downward spiral. His wife has died, leaving him to raise their son alone. He is systematically being demoted at the newspaper where he works as the arts section becomes the entertainment section and he finds himself being the TV critic with the unflattering moniker of The Couch Potato for his column.

Feeling the need to recapture some enthusiasm for something in his life, Rush joins a writing group hoping to start on the novel he feels is buried somewhere inside of him. Unfortunately, no one in the writing group seems to have much in the way of talent. Except for Angela who tells a haunting story of abuse and an evil man who does evil things: the Sandman. As Angela reveals snippets each week, Rush finds himself showing up just to know how the story ends.

When a serial killer appears who’s technique is just like the Sandman, the need to know how the story ends takes on more urgency. Especially when all signs point to Rush being the killer.

That’s as much I can tell you without giving the plot away. This is one of the best thrillers that I’ve read in a long time (and I realize that I recently said something similar about Reich‘s Rules of Deception). If I had to boil it down to a single element, it is Pyper‘s refusal to stick to conventions that makes this book for me. The main character doesn’t act the way I would expect him to and the book doesn’t end the way I expect thrillers to end. And those are all good things, great in fact.

Now I’m going to geek out a bit about the fact that Pyper is Canadian. If you’re not Canadian, you may not realize that much of our publishing industry is either devoted to CanLit (literary fiction which is often also very self-consciously Canadian) or imported popular fiction (mostly from the US). Finding Canadian popular fiction writers is difficult. Finding Canadian popular fiction writers who set their stories in Canada and manage to sneak in some Canadian pop culture while they are at it is even more difficult. Pyper does both, which thrills me as a Canadian reader (hence the geek out in progress).

I have nothing against reading American popular fiction (or British, or Australian, or New Zealand-ish?). In fact, I read quite a lot of it and I’m used to having stories set in Boston or New York or wherever. As long as it’s a good story and good writing, I’m happy. But it’s nice, ever once in a while, to have the extra bonus of sharing the culture of the protagonist and not having to translate things like Barnes & Noble to Chapters (not actually mentioned in Pyper’s book, but you get the idea).

No matter where you live, if you love a good thriller this is definitely a book to buy. As soon as I get through my current stack of books (which keeps multiplying when I’m not looking—why is that?), I’m going to track down Pyper’s other books: The Wildfire Season, The Trade Mission, and The Lost Girls.

You can find Andrew Pyper’s Books on Amazon:

I knew about this book, and it was on my maybe list. I have to admit that I tend to avoid books that win literary awards, but this one is winning international awards. I find that interesting because it implies an ability to reach people of many different cultures at a level high enough to win awards.

Of course, the fact that Hage was writing in his third language also intrigues me. I find that authors who speak and write a number of languages often put words together in new and surprising ways. Maybe it’s because cliches and idioms are not as ingrained when you use a variety of languages, or may they are there, but translated and harder to find.

In any case, one more book goes on the stack. Leave me a note, if you’ve read the book. I’d love to hear what you thought of it (no spoilers though, please).